


exit stage left

by UmiHinode



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Canon Timeline, Canonical Character Death, Depression, Gen, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, occurs between ranks 6 and 7 of sumire's confidant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25476739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmiHinode/pseuds/UmiHinode
Summary: After resolving to live as herself once more, Sumire has some difficulty finding her place within the Phantom Thieves. Ren and Akechi have their own unique ways of helping her.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren & Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira & Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 78
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	exit stage left

With a group as tight-knit and eclectic as the Phantom Thieves, fitting in was easier said than done.

Sumire had realized this rather quickly. It had been different, as Kasumi. Her sister's upbeat personality had allowed her to seamlessly become a part of the group whenever she found herself spending time with them, however that had been before they had found out each other's secrets. Now, pity was laced in every glance aimed her way. It made her sick.

_She_ made herself sick, running away the way she did.

In spite of it all, she had resolved to spend her days as Sumire, the way she was supposed to live. Evidently that change had created some distance between her and her teammates. Then again, she had always been the odd one out, right?

Once everyone had parted ways after a long day of traversing Maruki's palace, Sumire took the opportunity to reach out for Ren, only to let her hand fall to her side and for her voice to carry in its place.

"Senpai."

Ren turned, and Sumire supposed her tone had been telling. That, or he was still trying to get used to hearing her speak so meekly. His widened eyes might as well have stabbed her. _Please don't look at me like that._ Forcing herself to smile, she asked, "If it's alright with you, can we go back to Leblanc together?"

His only response was a nod. Neither he nor Morgana said a word, and so the trio made their way back to Yongen in silence. It wasn't until they arrived at Leblanc that Sumire gained the courage to speak. All she had to do was open her mouth and there was Ren, holding the door open for her. He wasn't about to let her run away from whatever she had wanted to say. Irritation and admiration played a nice round of tug-of-war in her heart.

Sojiro had already left for the night, leaving Ren in charge of bringing the café back to life. He flicked the lights on as Sumire entered, seating herself at the bar before Ren retreated behind the counter. Morgana leaped up into the chair beside Sumire and she timidly pet him, her cautious efforts still rewarding her with a purr. After a long silence, Ren set a giant plate of curry down in front of her, about twice as large as what Sojiro normally served. That got a smile out of Sumire. Fatigued after their exploits in the palace, she scarfed down almost half of the plate in one fell swoop. Eventually she caught Ren looking at her expectantly.

"I...must admit. I'm a little intimidated," she finally said.

"By?"

"Everyone. You're all so capable. And kind. And so many other things that it's a little overwhelming."

Amused, Ren said, "We don't bite. Well, Akechi might, but the rest of us are harmless."

Sumire giggled. "He _is_ intimidating."

"Not really. He's just like the rest of us."

_The rest of us..._ "Everyone in the Phantom Thieves fits together perfectly, like you're all part of a puzzle." Sumire took in a deep breath, pushing herself to continue. "Sometimes I feel like I'm a piece from a completely different puzzle, trying to fit in where I don't belong."

Morgana jumped up onto the counter, much to Ren's dismay, and sat in front of Sumire's plate. "That's how we all felt before we found each other. Some of us _might_ have even felt that way after joining. But we all belong here, Violet."

"Thank you." Sumire bowed her head as her voice cracked, and she hoped that her hair would hide what would soon be full-blown tears. With a shaky laugh, she added, "I guess I'm the one who hasn't been trying."

"Cut yourself some slack!" Morgana said, circling around her plate to safely nudge her arm without getting too close to her food. "Your situation — it's not an easy one. No one can blame you for needing some time to figure things out."

Unsure of what to say, Sumire shoved another spoonful of curry into her mouth and began wiping out the other half, eating every last bite with room in her stomach to spare. Once her tears had subsided, she said, "Thank you for being so patient with me. I really should be going, though."

"I'll walk you to the station," Ren offered.

Sumire shook her head. "I couldn't ask you to do that. You've already done so much to help me." _More than I can ever repay you for._ "Tomorrow, I'm going to make things right."

***

With Maruki's deadline drawing ever closer, the Phantom Thieves returned to his palace the following day. Normally, as Sumire had learned during their meeting at the hideout, Ren would allow for at least one day off in-between infiltrations for everyone to recuperate. Seeing as this was a matter that affected reality as they all knew it, the decision to return the next day was unanimous, Ren the one most against it until everyone persuaded him.

Evidently his hesitance was justified.

Sumire cried out as she fell to her knees, clutching her side. This Shadow must have been the toughest one they'd faced yet. She had been so optimistic, the most optimistic she'd been in such a long time, and this was how she was rewarded. So much for making things right.

"Violet's down! Someone help her!"

Makoto winced as she turned to Sumire. She was barely standing herself, and had announced not that long ago that her mana was getting low. "Violet, I—"

"Violet!"

Sumire whirled, and with the little strength she had left, lunged to catch the medicine vial that had been thrown to her. Akechi met her with a frown before she bowed out of gratitude. This Dr. Takemi Ren knew was a miracle worker; she felt better almost immediately.

"Let's finish this, Joker."

Before Sumire had the chance to properly thank him, Akechi, as well as Ren, vanished from their places at her side. Akechi's maniacal laughter filled the room and Sumire watched, awestruck, as he wildly swung his saber. Blood splattered all over the pristine white floor of Maruki's lab, and once Ren fired the killing shot, all of it evaporated as the Shadow faded into nothingness. Sumire blanched. The sight of blood still made her a little uneasy.

With the weakest of laughs, Ren said, "Let's find a safe room, shall we?"

Fortunately, they didn't have to walk far. The nearest safe room was right around the corner. Still, Ann and Ryuji sighed in unison and slumped against one another as soon as they entered.

"I'm beat," Ryuji groaned.

"We should consider retreating for the day," Makoto said. Beside her, Haru nodded feebly. "And taking a longer rest than usual."

"Sorry for not listening to you, Joker," Futaba offered. Ren could only shrug.

Sumire cringed as she sat down. The medicine could only do so much for her; the Shadow had gotten her pretty good. She had the wind knocked right out of her, and a nasty gash in her side to show for it.

Nothing could have prepared her for noticing just who had sat beside her. Sure, she hadn't been a Phantom Thief long, but in her short tenure, Akechi had always sat by his lonesome in the furthest corner of the safe room. Sumire frowned. _He's probably mad at me, for not being able to take care of myself._

"If you're going to say something, then say it," Akechi grumbled, avoiding her gaze. "But please, don't thank me."

"Then I guess I have nothing to say."

Until she noticed a cut under his eye, that is. His attire, especially his mask, left very little visibility. It was out of pure luck, and perhaps spite, that she noticed he was injured, and for all she knew, he could have been hiding more. Hesitantly, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"It's just a scratch. Hardly something you need to kiss and make better."

He seemed even more prickly than usual. Strange, considering his willingness to sit beside someone for once. Then again, Goro Akechi as a whole was rather strange to her. She was able to gather that something had happened between him and the others, though no one had really filled her in on it. All she really knew was that this Akechi was an almost completely different person from the one who had been her acquaintance.

Eager for even a semblance of an answer, Sumire took the leap. "Can I ask you something?"

Akechi sighed. "Has anyone ever said no to that?"

"You're so...free. I want to be like that."

That finally got him to look at her. "There's quite a disparity between you and I. For starters, you're not a murderer."

_Murderer..._

Kasumi's blood painting the streets.

The horrific smell.

Someone screaming right in her ears,

people's voices getting louder and louder, sirens in the distance

— a cacophony splitting her head open.

_"Sumire, stop! Listen to me! SUMIRE!"_

Her sister's last words on repeat, her final moments rewinding and replaying on Maruki's screen, over and over. Endlessly.

_It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault it's all my fault it's all—_

All of it stealing the air from her lungs in a split second.

Akechi narrowed his eyes and repeated emphatically, "You're not a murderer."

Hearing him managed to guide Sumire back into the present. Frantically she grabbed her shaking hand, praying for it to fall still.

"You're also a good person," Akechi pressed on. "You were almost _too_ good while acting as your sister. Frankly, it was annoying. But I will say that we're similar in that you're too old to be playing pretend. You've said your goodbyes to Kasumi — now you need to let go of whatever it is you're doing now. The Metaverse is the perfect place to start. You've seen how no one says a thing to me. Surely you have a lot of pent-up anger to release."

Sumire said nothing. She figured Akechi would grow frustrated with her (as if he wasn't already), but she couldn't help it. Her mind was drawing a blank. All that was there was Kasumi, nothing more than a memory.

"Aren't you tired of holding back?"

Whereas Sumire had expected him to be angry, Akechi's words were shockingly comforting. Here was someone who had struggled just like her, working on what she assumed to be finding peace for himself as who he really was rather than what was expected of him.

_You're too old to be playing pretend._

"I—"

"You can. And you will."

Sumire loosened her grip on her trembling hand. "I guess I'll trust your judgment, since you're speaking from experience."

"Experience has nothing to do with it," Akechi corrected. "Sometimes the best thing you can do is trust someone. Other times, it's the worst. It's a gamble you have to be willing to take."

"Thank you, Akechi-san."

"Crow—" he cleared his throat. "—senpai, remember?"

From across the room, Ryuji's boisterous voice caught Sumire's attention. She had been so absorbed in battling this despair inside of her that she had no idea what was going on with everyone else in the room.

"Quit actin' like my mom, man," Ryuji told Yusuke. "I'm _fine_."

Yusuke ignored his complaints as he wrapped a bandage around Ryuji's arm. "Joker's orders." Ryuji fell silent. "Now's hardly the time to put on a brave face and end up hurt because of it."

Seated in the middle of the room was Ren, surrounded by medical supplies. Where he stored them all, Sumire had no idea; their jackets were incredibly similar and she didn't have nearly enough pockets, making her a tad envious. Slowly, she stood and approached him.

"Can I borrow some of these?"

Ren nodded, and upon noticing Akechi out of the corner of his eye, smiled fondly.

Bandages in hand, Sumire returned to Akechi's side.

"I'm leaving if you try anything."

"Please." Sumire bowed her head. "Let me do this for you."

"You aren't going to let me say no, are you?"

Sumire grinned. "Nope."

Sighing, Akechi removed his mask.

***

The Metaverse was not on their side today, it seemed.

Sneaking back to the palace entrance was no easy feat regardless, but with everyone injured in some capacity and energy levels low across the board, Sumire supposed it was only natural that they would run into trouble.

What she wasn't expecting was for this to be a matter of life and death.

That was Ren Amamiya for you: always putting others before himself. He had checked up on everyone and pushed forward without even a use of Dia, much less Diarama, for his own wounds. Sumire had grown to truly admire that about him, but at this rate, there would be no Ren left to admire.

She didn't have the liberty of thinking. All she saw was Ren falling to the ground, and she bolted—

—catching him before he hit the ground, and leaping to safety. Her feet throbbed with the pain of a poor landing, but that didn't matter. Anxious, she looked to Ren, who smirked up at her.

"Well, this is a first. Can't say I've been princess-carried before."

Sumire's face burned as red as her hair. "I — um…"

Desperate to see anything but his face, Sumire turned and cringed at the sight of a crater that had formed in the wall directly behind where they had been. "Wait, the Shadow—"

Their enemy was vanishing, leaving a high-fiving Haru and Makoto in its place. Sumire let out a sigh of relief.

Akechi scoffed, and that small gesture made Sumire's eyes widen. "Oh! Sorry, Senpai!" Gingerly, she helped Ren to his feet, offering her shoulder for him to lean on, though he shook his head.

His smile significantly less teasing, Ren said, "Thank you."

Everyone was beaming at her now — sans Akechi, though if Sumire's eyes didn't deceive her, he did seem to have a rather proud smile. Sumire immediately felt the need to hide. She had always hidden herself away in the shadows, unworthy of taking Kasumi's position as the center of attention. To list all of the times Kasumi was buried in praise while she was ignored would take time they didn't have. Tears threatened to form, and she stubbornly fought back.

The pity she had sensed was eradicated. This was pure admiration for Sumire Yoshizawa, and no one else.

Desperate to escape these feelings, Sumire took off in a different direction from the others as they separated for the night. It wouldn't kill her to take the long way home — literally, if Maruki's actualization had a say in the matter. Whereas she might have been bitter at that realization in the past, it was almost comforting that Maruki wouldn't let her die here.

"Running away, are we?"

Sumire smiled at Akechi's question, and stopped walking in order to let him and Ren catch up. Ren appeared to be putting a lot of effort into not leaning on Akechi.

"You caught me."

"Why don't we all go to Big Bang Burger?" Ren suggested. "My treat."

Akechi snickered. "Bold words coming from someone who almost died."

"Almost doesn't count."

"I could always change that."

Whereas just a week ago, Sumire might have jumped in and exclaimed for the two of them to stop, she was able to laugh, reassured. It was incredible, how soothing their banter could be.

To Ren, Sumire said, "How about we help you get home instead?" When Ren began to retort, Sumire immediately held her hand up. "You do so much for us. Please, let us help you."

If he wasn't going to let her argue with him, then she'd give him a taste of his own medicine. He couldn't argue with that logic. With no other options, Ren allowed Sumire and Akechi to walk on either side of him, his arms slung over their shoulders.

_This is one thing Kasumi never got to do._ Sumire thought, unable to stop her mind from wandering as Ren and Akechi's bickering became background noise. _If she were alive, she'd probably be much better at this than me, but… She's not. For the first time, I get to do something and not be compared to her. This is how I can be free._

_I'm sorry if that makes me selfish, Kasumi._

How she wished she could hear the response she would never receive.

No matter how painful it might be, she would have to keep moving forward. At the very least, she didn't feel so alone.

_We all belong here, Violet._

It would undoubtedly take her a while to believe those words, but she wanted to believe. In time, the curtain would fall, and a new act with Sumire Yoshizawa as the main character would begin.

She just had to have faith.

**Author's Note:**

> After three years, Royal finally gave me the push I needed to finish a P5 fic. It's about time!
> 
> Since this is my first P5 fic, I hope my characterization's alright. I was pretty nervous about writing Akechi especially at first, but he's actually a lot of fun to write! I'm definitely not done writing for P5, and especially not for the Royal Trio. I have a lot of ideas for them! One I didn't really have a chance to include here was Sumire bonding with the rest of the Thieves, since we didn't really get to see that in the game. My main goal was to address that change doesn't happen overnight. As much as I love Sumi and want her to be happy, I wanted to see her struggle with this a little more, since her progression in the game was rather quick. I especially wanted to demonstrate that shift between her thinking that everyone's pitying her when they never were. She's still very much stuck in her head at this point, but she's trying, and that's what matters.
> 
> Originally the ending was supposed to be Sumi going off during battle and letting go of her anger like Akechi suggested, but I feel like her finding strength in saving someone's life (as Sumire, rather than Kasumi, like in Sae's palace) rather than "taking" one like she thought she took Kasumi's to be more fitting for her. Plus, Ren being princess-carried by her. Come on. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ♥ Kudos, bookmarks, and comments are greatly appreciated.


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